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The vulnerable victims of exam bureaucracy

GCSE resits are stressful for everyone but, thanks to red tape, they can be especially upsetting for learners with SEND. Jonathan Owen reveals how vulnerable learners who were allowed special assistance in exams at school cannot bank on automatically getting the same help at college

For most young people, the prospect of being tested under timed conditions in an exam is a cause of anxiety.

Those who fail their English and maths GCSEs at school face even greater pressure, as they are forced to take them again when they reach college under the government’s controversial GCSE resits policy. Yet the situation is even worse for tens of thousands of FE students already coping with special educational needs and disabilities who are facing GCSE resits.

Because these students have yet another barrier to contend with once they leave school and enter further education: the help ...

Students ‘under extra stress’

Robert Halfon MP, chair of the Commons Education Select Committee, says that the rules forcing SEND students to reapply for extra help in exams once they reach college need to be reviewed.

“Too often SEND students have to tackle the treacle of bureaucracy to get equal access to the educational ladder of opportunity,” he says. “This Tes report would appear to highlight another example of this social injustice.

“It’s important that these rules are revisited to ensure students get the support they deserve and that they are not put under additional stress.

“I would expect the education committee to look at SEND children and their education in a future inquiry.”

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